DOG owners, beware! Rochdale Council is on the trail of errant pooches. The fixed penalty fee for pesky poopers has been increased from £25 to £50.

And Council Enforcement Officer, Mark Holmes, is determined to use the powers he has to clean up a particular part of Middleton.

The playing field next to Middleton Parish Primary School is used by both school pupils and the Middleton Colts football teams. But selfish dog owners see the amenity as one large doggy doo area.

Headteacher, Brenda Rogerson, said: "We have been concerned for some time about the dog fouling problem on the field. Although stray dogs do wander into the area, we also see a lot of owners deliberately walking across the field and making no attempts to clean up after their dogs. In fact some owners have disputed that these are our school playing fields.

"Recently, a class walked round the field as part of a science lesson, and, in spite of being regularly warned to look out for dog mess, five children came back with it on their shoes. Games lessons on the field can also be hazardous."

One parent governor, Julie Martin has been working on a campaign to combat the problem and invited Mark Holmes to the school to talk to the children. He explained that it was important for dog owners to clean up after their pets. The children discussed the unpleasant aspects of dog mess and Mr Holmes explained that it was also a health risk because of toxocariasis. Pupils then asked if they could design posters to get the message across and the best of these were displayed on the fence surrounding the field.

Mrs Rogerson said: "Unfortunately, many signs we have put up in the past have been deliberately destroyed. The school governors have now purchased four more permanent signs, requesting that dog owners respect our playing fields."